An hour later, the two lay on opposite sides of the training room. Tang Ruobing covered her face with one hand, panting heavily, secretly thinking: I’m really crazy to have fought with this guy for so long.
The purpose of instigating the fight was to test Ye Mingqiu’s strength through her own means, indirectly confirming if he had the ability to possibly execute the plan of swiftly decapitating Feng Xinglie in a team battle, and assess how strong he currently was.
The answer is clear now.
Ye Mingqiu’s ability to endure damage is extremely strong. During the equipment stage, he can withstand Feng Xinglie’s wave of attacks without any problem. As for the second stage, Feng Xinglie wouldn’t change into leather armor like her and swap all accessories for added power, agility, and constitution before dueling Ye Mingqiu.
Without the ability to cast magic, Feng Xinglie facing this guy likely won’t end well. The decapitation strategy still holds great hope of success.
Furthermore...
Tang Ruobing turned her head to look at Ye Mingqiu who lay on the other side of the training room, and asked, "Hey, why did you... hit my face just now?"
"There was a flaw, no armor, so I hit it."
Ye Mingqiu answered simply and directly, which was his true thought. The quality of leather armor on Tang Ruobing wasn’t simple; hitting the body barely caused any damage. Of course he hit where there was a flaw.
When he enters a combat state, he doesn’t entertain any unnecessary thoughts; he hits where it’s needed, and seizes on any flaw, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
However, even in combat state, Ye Mingqiu wouldn’t go all-out in non-life-or-death duels, and would hold back somewhat, not using lethal moves on the opponent’s vital areas but purely enjoying the fun of the battle.
Just because of this?
Tang Ruobing felt a bit annoyed, so she asked instead, "If in the team, you encounter other women showing flaws, would you hit them as hard?"
Ye Mingqiu was silent for a moment, then answered, "If they’re enemies, I wouldn’t hold back."
"You mean, you still have reserve?"
"Yes."
"You weren’t using your full strength just now?"
Tang Ruobing’s voice gradually got louder, and her gaze changed accordingly, initially thinking it was an even match, but didn’t expect this guy to have more in reserve.
"Mm, I didn’t use a weapon."
"A weapon...?"
Tang Ruobing suddenly realized, indeed, this guy had previously learned Level 1 Long Weapon Specialty. If he used a long weapon in battle, it indeed becomes easier for him to gain the upper hand and thus achieve victory.
Compared to Ye Mingqiu with bare hands, she used fighting gloves, although they don’t add to attack power, they did provide an active skill [Strong Rhythm], which she used; from the weapon perspective, she indeed had the advantage.
But if he uses a weapon, I might not necessarily lose, right? After all, this guy’s Close Combat Specialty Level has reached Level 1, and he must have gone through quite some rigorous training, probably wouldn’t have any new enlightenment in long weapons.
So, Tang Ruobing casually asked, "What’s your highest Specialty Level?"
"Level 3."
"Oh, Level 3... what? Level 3?!"
Tang Ruobing’s face changed dramatically, her azure eyes widened in shock. Exhausted lying on the ground, she instantly got up and quickly came to Ye Mingqiu’s side, saying, "Quick, share it for me to see! If you dare deceive me... just you wait in the future!"
"Mm."
Ye Mingqiu opened the panel and shared the Long Weapon Specialty Level.
[Long Weapon Specialty: Level 3]
"Level 3, it’s actually Level 3, how did you do it? How did you uptier your Specialty Level to Level 3 in such a short time? How many Skill Experience Books did you use? Where did you get the Spiritual Points to buy them?" Tang Ruobing asked incredulously.
"I didn’t use any Skill Experience Books; if upgrading a Specialty requires Skill Experience Books... wouldn’t that just be wasting Spiritual Points too much?" Ye Mingqiu said as a matter of course.
For him, upgrading combat specialty requires just combat, and given the frequent battles in the Spirit Realm, there’s really no need to spend Spiritual Points on buying Skill Upgrade Books for combat specialties, it’s too wasteful.
"This..."
"Oh, right, thank you for helping me gain Enlightenment in [Fist Technique Specialty] from the battle earlier; if it wasn’t for your help, goodness knows how much longer it’d take for me to gather it by myself." Ye Mingqiu sincerely thanked as he shared Level 1 Fist Technique Specialty.
"You gained enlightenment in Fist Technique Specialty? Just from the time of that fight just now?" Tang Ruobing asked in disbelief.
"Mm, but I had a foundation in Close Combat Specialty; if starting from zero, it’d take at least four or five hours to gain enlightenment – my Talent isn’t as good as you might think." Ye Mingqiu answered.
"You know how long a normal person takes to gain enlightenment to Level 1 Specialty, right?" Tang Ruobing asked quietly.
"I know, about a month."
Ye Mingqiu beamed with an immensely bright smile.
He hadn’t thought he’d succeed in passing the Spirit Realm trial before becoming a Spiritualist, so he hadn’t learned much common knowledge; but now, having become a Spiritualist, not learning the basics would imply a problem with his thinking.
Tang Ruobing clenched her fists and said, "Knowing this and still saying it, you’re doing it on purpose!"
"Eh hey?"
"I’ll beat you to death!"
Tang Ruobing raised her fist as if to strike, but ultimately held back, heaved a deep sigh, and with a hand lowered, said "Your Specialty... has seriously improved by just combat alone, are you certain?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"Then I suppose your Combat Talent is strong; during the fight earlier, I could certainly sense a bit – your reaction speed is fast, combat intuition is extraordinarily accurate, and entering battle state you’re pure to a scary extent... you even fought me like that."
Tang Ruobing crouched and hugged her legs, burying her head against her knees, her azure hair naturally cascading down, forming a somewhat poignant painting.
After intense battle, her demeanor seemed to have undergone a subtle shift, no longer as cold as before, rather having a somewhat girlish feel... like when she and Ye Mingqiu were chatting online.
Ye Mingqiu looked at her, feeling subtly complex.
Just now during the fight, she was heavier-handed than me; and now she’s pretending to be pitiful.
But, she did treat me pretty well, and during battle her martial virtues were richly filled; even after falling behind she didn’t consider using Magic, and stuck to the approach she’d decided on to the end.
[Using full strength in battle shows basic respect to a strong opponent.]
Ye Mingqiu originally wanted to say this, but in the end, he simply patted Tang Ruobing’s back gently and soothingly said: "Sorry."
"Will you still hit me in the future?" Tang Ruobing cautiously raised her head, showing a glimpse of a dangerous look.
"Depends on the situation."
"You!"
Tang Ruobing was incensed, directly pulling out a Magic Staff from the Storage Space, hitting him while shouting, "I’ll let you depend on the situation! Let you depend on the situation! Will you still depend on it in the future!"
"Ow!"
Ye Mingqiu was beaten quite severely but didn’t hurt much; he even wanted to say:
You hit people as if you’re acting cute!